New route to permanent residence announced for undocumented immigrants married to US citizens

WASHINGTON—

Undocumented immigrants who are married to US citizens will have a new way to apply for permanent residence without having to leave the country, the administration of US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will begin implementing a process in late summer of this year that “will ensure that U.S. citizens and their non-citizen partners, as well as their children, can keep their families together.” ”.

High-ranking administration officials detailed that requests from “certain” people who “meet the specific requirements” to participate in the process will be considered “on a case-by-case basis.”

Those who are approved will have access to a temporary stay permit in the country for three years so that during that time they can begin the process of applying for permanent residence. During that time, they would be eligible for work permits.

Although they did not detail how long the process would take, officials assured that “the purpose is to ensure that once they have the temporary stay permit, they can request an adjustment of status from the US with their families.”

Currently, undocumented immigrants who are married to a US citizen must first leave the US for their country of origin to apply for permanent residency through a consular process that can take decades, and that separates families for an indefinite period of time.

“The challenges and uncertainty of this process result in many eligible spouses not applying for permanent residency,” one of the officials said.

Which are the requirements?

The spouses of a US citizen who seek to regularize their status will have to have entered the US irregularly, that is, without having received parole or admission at any port of entry.

They will have to have completed 10 years of stay in the country before June 17, 2024, and also be married to the citizen before that date. Furthermore, they must not represent a threat to the public security of the country.

Those who have been previously deported and returned irregularly to the country will not be eligible.

Officials assured that in the coming weeks they will detail the cost of the application and the platform through which potential beneficiaries can apply. “Anyone who attempts to submit an application before the process opens will be rejected,” officials detailed.

It is anticipated that this action will benefit some 500,000 people who remain illegally in the US but are married to a US citizen. Meanwhile, some 50,000 children of these undocumented immigrants, under the age of 21 and whose father or mother married before they were 18, will also be able to benefit.

Path to permanent residence for dreamers

Added to this new path to permanent residence for spouses of citizens is an additional action to “facilitate the work visa process for those who have graduated from university and have a highly qualified job offer,” including DACA beneficiaries. (Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

Work visas like the H1B, which allows U.S. employers to hire foreigners in specialized occupations, mean a path to a green card for some DACA recipients, through an employment-related residency that must be sponsored by the employer. .

The officials detailed that the new process will “clarify and improve” the existing process so that “dreamers” can access this type of visas “more quickly.”

DACA beneficiaries who have breached the terms of their stay permits and do not have their status in force will not be eligible.

Last Saturday, DACA turned 12 years old having been implemented by the administration of President Barack Obama, and the then Vice President, Joe Biden.

Official data indicates that more than 800,000 young people who were brought to the United States by their parents and stayed in the country irregularly have benefited from the protection from deportation and the work permit offered by the program.

Biden administration officials reiterated that these two announced measures remain temporary solutions until “Congress acts to provide greater stability” for families.

“These measures will help keep American families together and allow more young people to contribute to our economy and our country,” one of the officials added.

Just two weeks ago, immigration authorities in the United States announced broad restrictions on asylum on the southwest border, prohibiting access to this protection for those who cross irregularly into the country. A measure that It was already challenged in court.

“Although we are still in the implementation phase, encounters between ports of entry are down and repatriations are up,” said a US official.

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